Systems and methods for improving efficiencies of a memory system

ABSTRACT

A memory device includes a memory component that stores data. The memory device also includes a processor that receives a signal indicating that the memory component is coupled to the processor and retrieves information from the memory component. The information may include one or more algorithms capable of being performed by the memory component. The processor may then receive one or more packets associated with one or more data operations regarding the memory component. The processor may then perform the one or more data operations by using the memory component to employ the one or more algorithms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/724,558, filed on May 28, 2015, which is a Non-ProvisionalApplication claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/006,668, entitled “Systems and Methods for a Scalable Memory SystemProtocol,” filed Jun. 2, 2014, which is herein incorporated byreference. This application is also related to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/724,446, entitled “Systems and Methods for TransmittingPackets in a Scalable Memory System Protocol,” filed May 28, 2015, whichis also herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure is generally related to a memory system protocolused for performing data operations (e.g., read, write) using memorydevices. More specifically, the present disclosure is related to apacket-based scalable protocol that enables a number of memory andprocessing combinations, provides bit-efficient data transferoperations, and is concordant with a variety of bus types (e.g.,electrical, optical).

2. Description of the Related Art

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Conventional protocols generally transmit packets between memory deviceswith relatively low failure rates as compared with their predecessors.However, as industries aim to minimize the amount of energy involved inmoving packets of data between memory devices and other components, itis desirable to use protocols that efficiently move packets of datausing a minimal amount of energy, while maintaining the integrity of thepacket transmission.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may better be understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computing system,in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a memory device,which may be part of the computing system of FIG. 1, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a packet level view of a packet that may betransmitted within the computing system of FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed packet level view of the packet that maybe transmitted within the computing system of FIG. 1, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method for assigning transactionwindows for various types of memories that are part of the memory deviceof FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method for performing specializedoperations on a memory device, which may be part of the computing systemof FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of a method for generating a secureaccess list of trusted components, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

Scalable Memory System Protocol

As will be discussed in detail below, the present disclosure generallyrelates to scalable memory system protocol. That is, the scalable memorysystem protocol may adjust certain operations based on characteristicsof the data packets (e.g., requests, responses) being transferred. Inone embodiment, the scalable memory system protocol (“scalableprotocol”) may be a packet-based protocol that enables an efficient(e.g., power efficient, bit efficient) transmittal of packets of databetween memory devices, computing devices, and the like. The scalableprotocol may be implemented in a number of combinations with varioustypes of memory and processors such as Automata processors, aProcessor-in-Memory, network devices, storage appliances, hierarchicalmemory, abstracted memory, and the like. As used herein, processors mayinclude any suitable processor capable of performing executableinstructions on a corresponding electrical device. The scalable protocolmay also facilitate a broad range of devices including data centerswitches/routers, network routers, mobile devices, storage devices,Automata processors, Stream processors, processor-in-memory,work-moving-processors, Big Data, Big Graph, secure memory, virtualnetwork, general abstracted memory (e.g., Dynamic Random-Access Memory(DRAM), NAND, and emerging memories), and the like.

In certain embodiments, the scalable protocol may be designed tofacilitate communication of data packets between various memory andprocessing components while maintaining a lowest reasonable scalableprotocol overhead. In other words, the scalable protocol may be designedto provide a bit efficient transfer of data packets in that most, if notall, bits transferred via the scalable protocol are directly part of acorresponding data packet being transmitted. For instance, as will bediscussed in more detail below, the scalable protocol may enable requestpackets to be packed together without padding a signal with zerosunrelated to the respective packets, thereby maximizing a bit efficiencyof data packets being transferred via transmission lanes of a bus.

In addition to providing a bit-efficient mechanism to transfer datapackets, the scalable protocol may be concordant with a number of bustypes, such as electrical or optical buses. Moreover, the scalableprotocol may be capable of providing various operations with regard tothe respective bus including encoding, lane counting, channel counting,speed, style, instantiation count of a system, and the like.

Scalable Protocol

Keeping the foregoing in mind, the scalable protocol may be optimized toprovide for successful transactions such that packet failures are rare(e.g., <1e-6). The scalable protocol may also provide a careful tradeoffbetween packet transmission types, sizes, and a number of differentpacket sizes that may be handled.

As discussed above, industries are more focused on minimizing datamovement energy. That is, the energy consumed or spent moving datapackets between memory devices should be minimized. As such, thescalable protocol may, within reason, eliminate certain bits andmessages that may be discerned from other bits or messages or mayotherwise be unnecessary. For example, the scalable protocol may obviatethe need for a device to transmit data related to information that mayalready be known to the receiver.

Moreover, to provide efficient data movement operations, the scalableprotocol may facilitate transactions that are “sent to the memory.” Thescalable protocol may also transfer local operations, where internaldata flow is relatively low as compared to external control operations,with the external control operations. Furthermore, the scalable protocolmay implement an error control strategy that minimizes overhead using adynamic field size that adjusts or changes based on the amount of data(e.g., payload) being transmitted in the respective packet.

The scalable protocol may also minimize a number of fields used toconvey data. As such, the scalable protocol may allow field size tuningand flexibility since every packet may not make use of all availablefields.

The scalable protocol may also be designed to facilitate the coexistenceof low-latency and high-latency data. For example, the scalable protocolmay provide the ability to interlace the transmittal of low-latency databetween the transmittal high-latency data.

The design of the scalable protocol may be characterized as simple andgeneric in that the variable packet size may be determined in a singlefield of the respective packet. Further, the scalable protocol maymaintain simplicity in terms of its operations while remaining capableof performing complex transactions and operations. In addition, thescalable protocol may be flexible enough to enable future functions thatit may not currently be designed to provide.

In certain embodiments, the scalable protocol may limit the order inwhich packets are sent using local ordering schemes. That is, thescalable protocol may not enforce certain global synchronizationordering rules or the like. To stay true to the notion that the scalableprotocol remains abstract, the scalable protocol may facilitateoperations with a special device or with different types of channelproperties.

Keeping the foregoing in mind, the present disclosure describes a numberof systems and techniques that may be implemented within the scalableprotocol to provide for the aforementioned advantages. Although certainsystems or techniques detailed below are described independently withrespect to other systems or techniques, it should be noted that each ofthe systems and techniques described herein may be implemented withvarious other systems and techniques also described herein.

Computing and Memory Systems Using the Scalable Protocol

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of acomputing system 10 that may employ various techniques and systemsdescribed herein. The computing system 10 may be any of a variety ofcomputing devices, such as a computer, pager, cellular phone, personalorganizer, control circuit, etc. The computing system 10 may include ahost system on chip (SoC) 12 that may be coupled to a number of memorydevices 14. The host SoC 12 may be an integrated circuit (IC) thatintegrates all components of a computer or other electronic system intoa single chip. As such, the host SoC 12 may include one or moreprocessors, such as a microprocessor, that may control the processing ofsystem functions and requests in the computing system 10. In certainembodiments, the host SoC 12 may be a requesting component that requestsdata operations to be performed by another processor.

As mentioned above, the host SoC 12 may be coupled to the memory devices14. In certain embodiments, the host SoC 12 may be coupled to the memorydevices 14 via channels 16. The channels 16 may include buses,electrical wiring, or the like.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an embodiment of the memory device 14.The memory device 14 may include any storage device designed to retaindigital data. The memory device 14 may encompass a wide variety ofmemory components including volatile memory and non-volatile memory.Volatile memory may include Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and/orStatic Random Access Memory (SRAM). Moreover, the volatile memory mayinclude a number of memory modules, such as single inline memory modules(SIMMs) or dual inline memory modules (DIMMs).

The non-volatile memory may include a read-only memory (ROM), such as anEPROM, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND) to be used in conjunction withthe volatile memory. Additionally, the non-volatile memory may include ahigh capacity memory such as a tape or disk drive memory. As will beappreciated, the volatile memory or the non-volatile memory may beconsidered a non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium for storingcode (e.g., instructions).

As shown in FIG. 2, in certain embodiments, the memory device 14 mayinclude a system on chip (SoC) 22 that may be any suitable processor,such as a processor-in-memory (PIM) or a computer processor (CPU)tightly coupled to the memory components stored on the memory device 14.Generally, the memory SoC 22 may be on the same silicon chip as thememory components of the memory device 14. By merging the processing andmemory components into the memory device 14, the memory SoC 22 maymanage the manner in which data requests and responses are transmittedand received between the memory components and the host SoC 12. Incertain embodiments, the memory SoC 22 may control the traffic betweenthe memory components to reduce latency and increase bandwidth. As willbe appreciated, the host SoC 12 and the memory SoC 22 may employ ascalable memory system protocol when controlling the transmissionsbetween memory components and other devices in accordance withembodiments described herein. As such, the scalable memory systemprotocol may be operating on the channels 16 between the memory device14 and the host SoC 12, as well as on channels 29 between the memorycomponents and the memory SoC 22.

In certain embodiments, the memory device 14 may also include a buffer23. The buffer 23 may store one or more packets received by the memorySoC 22. By way of example, the memory device 14 may include memory typessuch as NAND memories 24, Reduced-latency Dynamic random access memory(RLDRAM) 26, double data rate fourth generation synchronous dynamicrandom-access memory (DDR4) 28, and the like.

In certain embodiments, the host SoC 12 and the memory SoC 22 mayperform various operations based on computer-executable instructionsprovided via memory components, registers, and the like. The memorycomponents or storage may be any suitable articles of manufacture thatcan serve as media to store processor-executable code, data, or thelike. These articles of manufacture may represent computer-readablemedia (i.e., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store theprocessor-executable code used by the host SoC 12 or the memory SoC 22to perform the presently disclosed techniques. The memory and thestorage may also be used to store the data, analysis of the data, andthe like. The memory and the storage may represent non-transitorycomputer-readable media (i.e., any suitable form of memory or storage)that may store the processor-executable code used by the host SoC 12 orthe memory SoC 22 to perform various techniques described herein. Itshould be noted that non-transitory merely indicates that the media istangible and not a signal.

Although the following description of various aspects related to thescalable protocol is described herein as being performed with respect tothe host SoC 12 and the memory SoC 22, it should be noted that all ofthe systems and techniques described herein may be performed using anysuitable device. That is, the scalable protocol may facilitatecommunication between any two devices, such as communications betweentwo processors, two memory modules, a processor and a memory module, andthe like.

Packet-Level View of Packets in Scalable Protocol

To employ the scalable memory system protocol when transmitting requestsand responses involving the memory components, the memory SoC 22 maysend packets of data structured according to a packet level view of apacket 30 illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the packet 30 mayinclude a transaction type field 32, a payload field 34, and an errorcontrol code (ECC) field 36. The transaction type field 32 may includedata indicative of the type of transmittance, a type of packet beingtransmitted, or both. The transaction type field 32 may also indicate apacket size to indicate a number of bits in the data payload and thenumber of bits in the ECC field, thereby indicating the number of bitsin the entire packet. In certain embodiments, the transaction type field32 may indicate the size of the payload field 34 and the ECC field 36 inan indirect manner. For example, the data stored in the transaction typefield 32 may serve as an index to a lookup table. The lookup table mayprovide information regarding the sizes of the payload field 34 and theECC field 36. As such, the memory SoC 22 may, in one example, receivethe packet 30 and use the data stored in the transaction type field 32as an index to a lookup table that may be stored within the memorydevice 14 to determine the sizes of the payload field 34 and the ECCfield 36.

In certain embodiments, the transaction type field 32 may specifydifferent types of packets based on whether the packet is beingtransmitted on a request bus Q or a response bus S, which may includethe channels 16, the channels 29, or the like. Generally, the requestbus Q and the response bus S may be separate, unidirectional, or commoninputs/outputs. The request bus Q generally includes q lanes, and theresponse bus S generally includes s lanes.

Example transaction type fields 32 for packets 30 transmitted on therequest bus Q may include read operations (e.g., 8uRead, 8uRead2,varRead, where u might be an 8-bit unit or a 9-bit unit or possibly anon-integer unit size of data), message data (e.g., message),read-modify-write (RMW) operations (e.g., RMW1A, RMW2A, RMW3A, RMW4A),datasets (e.g., 32uData, 64uData, 128uData, 256uData), pattern writeoperations (e.g., 8uPatternWrite, 16uPatternWrite), write-with-enableoperations (e.g., 8uWriteWithEnables, 16uWriteWithEnables), writeoperations (e.g., 8uWrite, 16uWrite, 32Write, 48uWrite, 64Write,80uWrite, 96uWrite, 112uWrite, 128Write, 256Write), and the like.Providing 32Write operations and 64Write operations may provide moreflexibility to a system designer in picking a maximum packet size. Thescalable protocol may, in one embodiment, have a limit of 256Unit, butusing a smaller maximum packet size may help with system latency. Itshould be understood that the difference between 32uWrite and 32Write isthat 32uWrite is a single fixed size and the TransactionSize is notincluded in the packet. On the other hand, 32Write includes aTransactionSize and thus can involve additional 32U chunks of data, notjust the 32U chunk included in the original request packet. Noting thelisted transaction type examples above for the request bus Q, thepackets 30 transmitted via the request bus Q may include a total of 26native transactions (e.g., 8uRead, message, RMW1A, etc.), each of whichmay be represented using a 5-bit field for global (i.e., system thatincludes numerous CPU modules and/or numerous memory device modules inwhich packets may be relayed from unit to unit) or local systems (i.e.,system that include few modules in which packets move point to pointbetween units without relaying). As such, in one embodiment, thetransaction type field 32 for a packet 30 on the request bus Q may be 5bits.

In the same manner, example transaction type fields 32 for packets 30transmitted on the response bus S may include message data (e.g.,message), datasets (e.g., 8uData, 16uData, 32uData, 48uData, 64uData,80uData, 96uData, 112uData, 128uData, 256uData), and the like. Again,noting the listed transaction type examples above for the response busS, the packets 30 transmitted via the response bus S may include a totalof 11 native transactions (e.g., message, 8uData, etc.), each of whichmay be represented using a 4-bit or 5-bit field for a local system. Assuch, in one embodiment, the transaction type field 32 for a packet 30on the response bus S may be 4 bits.

Since the 26 request bus Q transaction types and the 11 response bus Stransaction types include 5 of the same transaction types (e.g.,message, 128uData, 256uData), the total number of transaction types usedby the request bus Q and the response bus S may be 32. These 32transaction types may thus be represented in a 5-bit field. Additionaldetails regarding the transaction types will be discussed further below.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the packet 30 may also include a payloadfield 34 and an error control code (ECC) field 36. As mentioned above,the respective size of the payload field 34 and the ECC field 36 may bedetermined based on the data in the transaction type field 32. By way ofexamples, the payload field 34 may be approximately between 45 bits and2093 bits, and the ECC field 36 may be approximately between 6 bits and37 bits. The payload field 34 may include the data representative of therequest or response being sent via the request or response bus,respectively.

The ECC field 36 may include the error control code to determine whetherthe packet 30 received by the receiving component includes any errors.As such, the error control code may include various algorithms, such asadding redundant data, or parity data, to a message, such that theoriginal data may be recovered by the receiving component even when anumber of errors were introduced, either during the process oftransmission, or on storage. Generally, the error control code mayprovide the ability to detect an error within the limits of the code andindicate a further action, such as retransmitting the errant packet,when the error is detected.

Transaction Windows

In addition to providing improved bit-efficiency with regard to errorcontrol codes, the scalable protocol may organize packets according totheir respective transaction types and transmit the organized packetsaccording to a particular order based on their respective transactiontypes. In conventional protocols, requests may be ordered according to atime at which they have been issued or transmitted. In this case, if thefirst request involves a high latency and the following request (i.e.,second request) involves a low latency, the second request may have towait for the first request to finish even though it may be completedmore quickly than the first request. As a result, the first request maychoke the bus. In other words, the first request may prevent the busfrom responding to relatively low latency requests, even though the lowlatency requests may be resolved more quickly than the higher latencyrequests.

To provide a more efficient manner in which to mix different types oftransaction requests within the bus, the scalable protocol may usetransaction windows to determine an order in which requests areserviced. A transaction window may be a virtual channel implementedusing a virtual address space. Each transaction window may be associatedwith a respective memory device, such as NAND and DRAM. As such, asingle transaction window may be associated with a memory or memorieshaving the same characteristics, such as latency, bandwidth,granularity, persistence, and the like.

Generally, the transaction window may provide information related to acertain set of rules of engagement for each particular transaction. Asmentioned above, the transaction window data may specify a set of lanesof a physical bus (e.g., channels 29) being used to transmit and receivepackets for particular transactions. The set of lanes specified by thetransaction window may be referred to as a virtual channel accessible tothe memory device 14. Using the transaction window data to characterizecertain features (e.g., ordering) related to the transmission orreception of packets, the scalable protocol may better manage thetransmission of packets between processors.

For instance, since each type of memory device has a different latency,it may be beneficial to manage the flow of bus traffic between varioustypes of memory devices 14 and the host SoC 12 based on respectivelatencies of the respective memory devices. By way of example, DRAMdevices generally have fast latencies (e.g. 50 ns from a randomrequest), while NAND devices generally have slow latencies (e.g. 500 us)with error correction after a random request. SRAM buffers have fasterlatency of 10 ns. Keeping this in mind, the scalable protocol maydesignate a transaction window for each memory device. In oneembodiment, the scalable protocol may use two fields to designate eachtransaction window: a 48-bit Address and a 3-bit Window (i.e.,addressing Windows 0 through 7). FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram thatdepicts the two fields that designate the transaction window in thepacket 30. As shown in FIG. 4, a transaction window field 42 and anaddress window field 44 may be part of the payload field 34. Thetransaction window field 42 may specify a designated transaction windowand the address window field 44 may specify the 48-bit addressassociated with the specified transaction window. The 48-bit address maybe a virtual address assigned to a virtual channel (i.e., window). Inone embodiment, the virtual address space may reference a physicaladdress located on a hard disk drive or some other storage device. Assuch, the memory device may have the ability to store more data thanphysically available.

In addition to the transaction window field 42 and the address windowfield 44, the packet may include a start bit 46 and a level ofindirection field 48. The start bit 46 may indicate the beginning of apacket. The level of indirection field 48 may be part of the payloadfield 34 and may provide a value that indicates a number of levels ofindirection the respective transaction may include. Additional detailsregarding the start bit field 46 and the level of indirection field 48will be discussed in greater detail in other sections below.

Generally, each type of memory device may be assigned to a differenttransaction window. By way of examples, DRAM0 may be assigned intoWindow0, DRAM1 into Window1, DRAM2 into Window2, NAND0 into Window3,NAND1 into Window4, and SRAM buffers and control registers into Window7.With this in mind, an example set of transactions may be sent accordingto the following sequence:

-   -   (1) Read.Window0.AddressA    -   (2) Read.Window3.AddressB    -   (3) Read.Window0.AddressC    -   (4) Read.Window0.AddressD    -   (5) Read.Window0.AddressE    -   (6) Read.Window0.AddressF    -   (7) Read.Window3.AddressG    -   (8) Read.Window0.AddressH    -   (9) Read.Window0.AddressI

As shown above, transactions 1, 3-6, 8, and 9 are part of Window0, whichcorresponds to a DRAM memory device. Transactions 2 and 7, on the otherhand, are part of Window3, which corresponds to a NAND memory device.Upon receiving the above requests, the receiving component may respondto the received requests using ordering rules established according tothe respective transaction windows specified for each transaction. Assuch, the receiving component may use the transaction windows to providea local ordering protocol between the transmitting component and thereceiving component.

In one embodiment, the ordering rules specified for a particulartransaction window may be based on the respective latency associatedwith the respective transaction window. That is, the receiving componentmay respond to the requests involving lower latencies first beforeresponding to the requests having longer latencies. Since the receivingcomponent may be aware of the latency differences between eachtransaction window, the receiving component may decide to receive thetransactions according to their window designations. As such, referringagain to the example transactions described above, the receivingcomponent implementing the scalable protocol may respond to the aboverequests as follows:

-   -   (1) Data.Window0.AddressA    -   (3) Data.Window0.AddressC    -   (4) Data.Window0.AddressD    -   (5) Data.Window0.AddressE    -   (6) Data.Window0.AddressF    -   (8) Data.Window0.AddressH    -   (9) Data.Window0.AddressI    -   (2) Data.Window3.AddressB    -   (7) Data.Window3.AddressG

As shown above, the receiving component may first respond to thelow-latency requests of Window0 before responding to the higher latencyrequests of Window3. That is, the long latency requests may betransmitted later than the short latency requests. As a result, thesystem bus servicing the requests is not hampered by the presence ofdifferent classes of memory on the same bus without adding variouselaborate protocol complications, such as adding a field with REQUESTPRIORITY. In this way, the scalable protocol provides a complex systemoperation using a minimal number of bits in a relatively simple manner.

In another example, the receiving component may employ a local orderingscheme based on a corresponding transaction window specified for eachtransaction. For the following transaction:

-   -   (1) Read8b.Window1.AddressA    -   (2) Read8b.Window2.AddressB    -   (3) Read8b.Window1.AddressC        The receiving component may first receive transaction (1) and        determine whether AddressA is available. If AddressA is busy,        the receiving component may store transaction (1) in a queue and        wait for AddressA to become available. In the meantime, the        receiving component may then receive transaction (2) and perform        the read operation if AddressB is available. The receiving        component may then receive transaction (3) and since it is        associated with the same window as transaction (1), the        receiving component may determine whether there are any ordering        conflicts with regard to performing transaction (3) before        transaction (1) because they are part of the same transaction        window. In the same manner, the receiving component may        disregard any potential ordering conflict or the determination        of any potential ordering conflict with transaction (2) because        it is part of a different transaction window. As such, the        transaction windows may provide a more efficient way for data        operations to be performed while different transactions are        being performed. That is, since the transaction windows allow        operations to be logically grouped with related operations or        memory devices, operations may be performed in a variety of        orders, thereby providing a flexible way to complete        transactions. In contrast, conventional protocols typically        enforce a strict order of data operations to be performed        according to the order in which the transactions were sent even        though different transactions may be performed in a variety of        orders or may process transactions based on the inclusion of        priority information sent in a dedicated protocol field.

In one embodiment, the scalable protocol may provide an ability toassign a minimum transaction size for each window (e.g.,Window0.Size=8Bytes, Window3.Size=128 B). For example, if a minimumtransfer size for Window0 is 8 bytes, for a 48b address field, Window0may store 2{circumflex over ( )}48*8 bytes=˜2.25×10¹⁵ bytes. In the samemanner, if a minimum transfer size for Window3 is 128 bytes, Window3 maysupport ˜3.6×10¹⁶ bytes. As such, both Window0 and Window3 supportconsiderably more bytes than the address space implies.

Another feature associated with the transaction window includes a simplesystem-level addressability of other spaces such as Window0 SRAM andsystem control registers without creating additional commands in theprotocol. That is, SRAM and system control registers may be addressed bysimply using Window0. Prior protocols, on the other hand, may useadditional commands such as register.read and register.write to interactwith these types of memories. With the designated transaction window forthese memory types, the same read and write commands used for othermemory devices may also be used for SRAM and system control registers.That is, the read and write commands may simply point to an appropriatewindow. As such, the scalable protocol may employ fewer commands,thereby reducing the number of bits used in the protocol.

By organizing data transactions according to transaction types, multipletransaction windows may provide multiple avenues of access to the samememory type. For example, a typical DDR3 DRAM may include eight banks,and an internal bus may include eight such DRAMs. With this in mind, theeight DRAMS may be organized such that Window1 represents bank 0 of agroup of eight DDR3 DRAMs and Window2 provides access to bank 1 of thissame group. In this way, each window may specify a particular virtualaddress space of each DRAM. With this in mind, it is clear that a numberof suitable grouping methods are available since there could be anynumber of DRAMs grouped in a lock-step operation, each with pages, banksand ranks. In the same manner, NANDs may also be grouped with pages,planes, and blocks. Furthermore, multichannel devices can be furtherseparated per channel and various aggregations thereof. Generally, thegrouping options may be determined based on a complexity of logic chipdesign.

By supporting multiple transaction windows having multiple virtualaddress spaces and virtual channels, the scalable protocol may use thetransaction windows to establish predictable data ordering in a systemthat contains memories that have different latencies. As a result, thescalable protocol may support high and low priority requests withouthaving an explicit protocol field that specified how the high and lowpriority requests are ordered.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method50 for assigning transaction windows for various types of memories thatare part of the memory device 14. Although the method 50 is depicted ina particular order, it should be noted that the method 50 may beperformed in any suitable order, and thus, is not limited to the orderdepicted in the figure. Additionally, the following description of themethod 50 will be described as being performed by the memory SoC 22 fordiscussion purposes. As such, any suitable processor that iscommunicatively coupled to various types of memories may perform theoperations described in the method 50.

Referring now to FIG. 5, at block 52, the memory SoC 22 may receive aninitialization signal from registers or other memory components storedwithin the memory SoC 22 itself. In one embodiment, the initializationsignal may be received by the memory SoC 22 upon power up or when thememory device 14 initially receives power.

At block 54, the memory SoC 22 may determine the memory types that itmay be able to access. That is, the memory SoC 22 may scan itscommunication lanes (e.g., channels 29) and identify the different typesof memories that may be communicatively coupled to the memory SoC 22.Referring back to the example memory device 14 depicted in FIG. 2, thememory SoC 22 may determine that the RLDRAM 26, the DDR4 28, and theNAND 24 memory types are coupled to the memory SoC 22.

At block 56, the memory SoC 22 may determine the capabilities of each ofthe memory types identified at block 54. The capabilities of the memorytypes may include a capacity of the memory type, an expected latency fora read operation using the memory type, an expected latency for a writeoperation using the memory type, and the like. Other capabilities thatmay be identified by the memory SoC 22 for use in assigning transactionwindows may include read latency, write latency, bandwidth, minimum readtransaction size, minimum write transaction size, device cycle time,writeable in place or not, byte write capability or not, and the like.In certain embodiments, each different type of memory may be associatedwith a different set of capabilities. The associations between thedifferent types of memories and the different sets of capabilities maybe stored in a register of the memory SoC 22 or may be provided by eachrespective memory type.

After determining the capabilities of the memory types, the memory SoC22 may, at block 58, assign a transaction window to each memory typeidentified at block 54 based on the respective capabilities of eachmemory type. Generally, the memory SoC 22 may assign each similar memorytype to the same transaction window. That is, since each similar memorytype has similar capabilities, the memory SoC 22 may assign the memorytype to the same transaction window. For example, referring again to theexample memory device 14 of FIG. 2, the memory SoC 22 may assign the twoDDR4 28 memories to the same transaction window because they areidentical memory types. In the same manner, if two different memorytypes have a certain number of similar capabilities, the memory SoC 22may also assign the two memory types to the same transaction window.

In one embodiment, the memory SoC 22 may assign a memory type to acorresponding transaction window based on desired operations of thememory SoC 22. For instance, if the memory SoC 22 desires that all readoperations have at least a particular latency, the memory SoC 22 mayassign each identified memory type into a first transaction window thatmeets this latency threshold or into a second transaction window thatdoes not meet this latency threshold.

After assigning a transaction window to each identified memory type, thememory SoC 22 may proceed to block 60 store properties of eachtransaction window in a storage device. The storage device may includeany suitable device capable of storing data. As such, the storage devicemay include a local register, a table, or some other information storageunit. In this way, the memory SoC 22 may perform operations for eachmemory type according to ordering rules as described above. In somecases, the stored properties may detail certain capabilities of eachtransaction window along with other relevant information regarding theoperation of each transaction window.

Transaction Window for Specialized Functions

To provide a more efficient manner in which to mix different types oftransaction requests within the bus, the memory SoC 22 or any othersuitable processor may use transaction windows to determine an order inwhich requests are serviced. As discussed above, since each type ofmemory device has a different latency, it may be beneficial to managethe flow of bus traffic between various types of memory devices 14 andthe host SoC 12 based on respective latencies of the respective memorydevices.

For example, as detailed above, the transaction window may provideinformation to the receiving component to organize the manner in whichit responds to received requests. Specifically, the receiving componentmay first respond to the low-latency requests of Window0 beforeresponding to the higher latency requests of Window3. As such, the longlatency requests may be transmitted after the short latency requests,and the system bus servicing the requests is not hampered by thepresence of a long latency request preventing a short latency requestfrom being performed.

In one embodiment, the scalable protocol may also provide an ability toassign a minimum transaction size for each window (e.g.,Window0.Size=8Bytes, Window3.Size=128 B). For example, if a minimumtransfer size for Window0 is 8 bytes, for a 48b address field, Window0may store 2⁴⁸*8 bytes=˜2.25×10¹⁵ bytes. In the same manner, if a minimumtransfer size for Window3 is 128 bytes, Window3 may support ˜3.6×10¹⁶bytes. As such, both Window0 and Window3 support considerably more bytesthan the address space implies.

Another feature associated with the transaction window may include asimple system-level addressability of other spaces such as Window0 SRAMand system control registers without creating additional commands in theprotocol. That is, SRAM and system control registers may be addressed bysimply using Window0. Other protocols, on the other hand, may useadditional commands such as register.read and register.write to interactwith these types of memories. With the designated transaction window forthese memory types, the same read and write commands used for othermemory devices may also be used for SRAM and system control registers.That is, the read and write commands may simply point to an appropriatewindow. As such, the scalable protocol may employ fewer commands,thereby reducing the number of bits used in the protocol.

Keeping the foregoing in mind, transaction windows can be seen as beingassociated with different memory devices 14. In one embodiment, eachmemory device 14 may be associated with at least two transactionwindows, one of which being Window0. Window0 may include a logical spacein which all special or complex functions capable of being performed bythe respective memory device 14 may be implemented. For example, Window0may be part of control registers, buffers, SRAM cache, general SRAM, andthe like. As such, complex functions that may be relatively complicatedto easily represent in any protocol may be enabled within thetransaction Window0 of the respective device. That is, the scalableprotocol may perform the relatively simple transaction type operationsmentioned above (e.g., read, write, RMW, etc.) without creatingadditional transaction types to perform different types of complexfunctions.

In addition to providing a logical space in which all special or complexfunctions capable of being performed by the respective memory device 14may be implemented, Window0 may serve as a consistent location in whichother devices may consult to determine the respective capabilities ofthe respective device. That is, other devices may access Window0 of arespective device to discover the type of device they may be connectedto, the capabilities of the respective device, what items may beprogrammable in the respective device, various characteristicspertaining to the respective device, and the like.

Moreover, since the scalable protocol is designed to enable anabstracted memory system, devices using the scalable protocol mayperform relatively simple operations without conforming or modifying itscommands based on the respective device they may be connecting with.However, if the other devices desire to perform other operations thatmay be part of the known transaction types, the other devices may accessWindow0 to determine how the other operations may be performed. As such,Window0 may store specific algorithms or functions that may be performedby the respective device and may not be broadly applicable to all memorydevices. By employing Window0 for each respective device as discussedabove, various types of complex operations may be performed by variousdevices without transmitting numerous messages and transactionoperations between two devices to enable one device to perform thecomplex operations.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method 70 for performingspecialized operations using the memory device 14. In certainembodiments, the method 70 may be performed by the memory SoC 22, but itshould be understood that any suitable processing device capable ofcommunicatively coupling with a memory component may perform the method70.

Referring first to block 72, the memory SoC 22 may receive a signalindicating that a communication connection (e.g., electrical, optical)with the memory device 14 has been established. The signal may bereceived upon power up of the memory device 14.

At block 74, the memory SoC 22 may retrieve information regarding thememory device 14 from a pre-defined memory space (e.g., Window0). Thatis, every type of memory device 14 that employs the scalable protocolmay include a pre-defined memory address that may store Window0information discussed above. As such, the memory SoC 22 may acquireinformation regarding the memory device 14 including, for example,memory space in the memory device 14 where the memory device 14 mayperform various functions, capabilities of the memory device 14, variousalgorithms or functions that may be performed by the memory device 14,and the like.

After obtaining information pertaining to the memory device 14, at block76, the memory SoC 22 may receive packets of data from the host SoC 12or some other device coupled to the memory device 14. The packets ofdata may include various types of data operations, such as read, write,message, and the like. In some embodiments, the data operation mayinclude a complex or special function that the information acquired atblock 74 indicates may be performed by the memory device 14. In thiscase, the memory SoC 22 may receive these packets and use the dedicatedmemory space to perform the operations, to apply algorithms or functionsas specified by the operations, or the like.

For example, a Processor-in-Memory (PIM) style device may include verylittle intelligence and may have a large sequence of control informationcommunicated to control silicon within the PIM from the host SoC 12, thememory SoC 22, or any other suitable processor. Control silicon mayinclude a processor or some other circuit used to control an electronicdevice such as a PIM. The control information may include relativelysimple operations that may be performed by the PIM. For instance, thecontrol information may instruct the PIM to perform a vector compare ofvector A versus vector B, which would require a relatively small amountof control flow information. The vector operation may correspond to aSIMD (single instruction, multiple data) function that performs abit-by-bit compare of 64K bits versus another 64K bits, producing a 64Kbit answer of 1 for every location that matches and 0 for every bitlocation that does not match.

The control information may include more complex functions, such as anoperation that may include performing a vector addition of 32-bitintegers. To perform this operation, the PIM may use a high cycle countof events, which may be controlled by a stream of control information.In the same manner, the control information may include more complexfunctions, such as performing a double-precision 64-bit floating-pointmath function such as (a+jb)*(c+jd)=e+jf for a vector. In this example,e=a*c−b*d, f=a*d+b*c. To perform this operation, the PIM may usefloating point normalizations, proper exponents in results, and an arrayof operands in SIMD fashion. Examples of even more complex operationsinclude performing an H.264 decode of a video stream by performingmillions of individual operations, each of which themselves may employnumerous control cycles in the PIM.

Regardless of the complexity of the operation being performed, at block78, the memory SoC 22 may perform the data operations specified in thepackets based on the information retrieved at block 74. That is,referring to the examples discussed above, the memory SoC 22 may performany type of operation using simple protocol commands and the dataavailable in Window0 of a respective device. For instance, with regardto the example of the simple operation of the vector bit-by-bit compareoperation discussed above, the component performing the operation mayemploy just a few cycles of control information and then the entiresequence may be exported from the component (e.g., memory SoC 22), whichphysically houses the Window0 control registers may be utilized,buffers, etc., to the silicon device which housed the PIM hardware. Ifthe vector bit-by-bit compare operation may be communicated using just256 bits of control information, a single write command (e.g.,32uWrite—write 32 units of data where unit is 8 bits) that may write 32bits to an appropriate Window0 control register. A SoC which supportsthe PIM may be designed such that it has translation hardware to sendinformation from the control register to the PIM device using a nativeprotocol of the PIM device which may be different than the scalableprotocol described herein. Here, the vector compare operation may alsohave been simply directly addressed to a particular address of the PIMitself if the PIM has an addressable control register to perform such anoperation.

Considering the more complex example of performing a vector addition of32-bit integers, this operation may entail some small number of cyclesfor a single bit (e.g., 6 control cycles). However, when increasing thedata size to 32 bits, the operation can be regarded as 32×those 6control cycles and even more when considering that additional shiftingmay be involved. In this case, the whole control sequence may be builtup in window0 of the SoC. Once a first portion of the control sequenceis ready, the first portion of the control sequence may be sent to thePIM. In the same manner, once the second portion of the control sequenceis ready, the second portion of the control sequence may be sent to thePIM. This process may continue until the whole function is complete.

In certain embodiments, the control sequence may be constructed withinWindow0 in a variety of ways. For example, to provide an efficient wayin terms of involving a least amount of data flow, the control sequencemay be constructed using a direct memory access (DMA) method of buildinga macro. An example individual DMA transfer may be as follows: RMW2A, 1KB of data, from Window.2 Address xyz to Window.0 Address abc. In thisway, primitive commands, such as compare, add, multiply, etc., may bestored in non-volatile memory which may reside in the same transactionwindow (e.g., if embedded NOR Flash was used in the SoC) or in adifferent transaction window (e.g., if NAND FLASH accessible to the SoCwas used). In one embodiment, a more complex macro may be simply builtby performing a DMA transfer of a smaller macro from the nonvolatiledevice and piecing together the large complex macro from a number ofsmall macros in the appropriate order. Here, when the macro iscompletely assembled, piece-meal parts of an instruction stream may besent to the PIM device for execution.

Scalable Error Control Code

In addition to the features described above, various aspects of thescalable protocol are aided by the successful implementation of an ErrorControl Code. However, to send bit-efficient packets of data, thescalable protocol may implement an error control code for errordetection that is scalable based on a data length of a correspondingpayload field 34 of the packet 30. That is, in one embodiment, thescalable protocol may use a small number of parity bits (P-bits) tocover short data lengths and a progressively larger number of P-bits asthe data length increases. Generally, the relationship between the datalength covered and the number of P-bits employed corresponds to a bestpossible cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code for any given data length.Scaling the number of P-bits used based on the size of the data lengthmay be employed with various types of memory technologies that have abus used for information communication, such as DRAM, NAND, emergingmemory, controllers, and the like.

In one embodiment, in contrast to conventional solid-state devices,which may have an absolute requirement of number of bits used forcorrection and detection of errors, the scalable protocol may switchbetween various levels of error code detection based on whether the databeing verified has an acceptable amount of errors. That is, the scalableprotocol may initially use a less-computationally intensive errorcontrol code to determine whether the data being verified has anacceptable amount of errors. Upon detecting that the data includeserrors above some threshold, the scalable protocol may include using amore-computationally intensive error control code to determine theerrors of the data.

To check the errors of a corresponding payload while incorporating ascalable or dynamically sized ECC field, the scalable protocol mayimplement an error control code algorithm having a Hamming Distance of 3(HD3), 4 (HD4), 5 (HD5), 6 (HD6), or the like. In any case, the size ofthe error control code implementing the Hamming Distance algorithm maychange based on the size of the payload in the packet. As such, thetransaction type field 32 may specify a certain number of bits in theerror control code, such that the number of bits specified may bedirectly related to the number of bits in the payload of the packet. Byenabling the ECC to be dynamically sized within the packet, the scalableprotocol may further increase the bit efficiency with respect to eachdata transfer or transaction. In other words, since the integrity of arelatively small data payload may be verified using a relatively smallECC field, it may be inefficient to use a larger ECC field to verify theintegrity of the corresponding data payload.

Keeping this in mind, the HD3 error control code may detect any 1-bit or2-bit errors. The HD3 code may also have a high probability of detectingany 3-bit errors but the detection of a 3-bit error is not guaranteed.In one embodiment, the HD3 error control code may be applicable for codeof an infinite data length. In one example of implementing the HD3 errorcontrol code in hardware via a collection of XOR gates, for data bit #1,the value may be 3 or binary 00 . . . 0011. Here, the least significantbit is the rightmost bit. A “1” in that bit location means that a Paritybit 0 may use an XOR term from data bit 1. The next leftmost bit mayalso be a “1,” which indicates that Parity bit 1 may use an XOR termfrom data bit #1. Since there are no more entries that are 2 P-bitslong, the P-bit count may increase by 1. In the same manner, if data bit#2 has a value of 5, or binary 0 . . . 0101, an XOR term from data bit#2 may be used for the following P-bit numbers 0 and 2. For data bit #3having a value of 6 or binary 0 . . . 0110, an XOR term from data bit #3may be used for P-bit numbers 1 and 2. For data bit #4 having a value of7 or binary 0 . . . 0111, an XOR term from data bit 4 may be used forP-bit numbers 1, 2 and 3. As shown in this example, the number of P-bitsincreases as the data bit value increases. Keeping this in mind, Table 1below summarizes how the number of P-bits increases according to thedata length of the payload field for the HD3 error control code.

TABLE 1 Data Length No. of P-bits 1 2 4 3 11 4 26 5 57 6 120 7 247 8 5029 1013 10 2036 11 4083 12 8178 13 16369 14 32752 15 65519 162{circumflex over ( )}n − n − 1 n

Like the HD3 error control code, an HD4 error control code may also usea scalable number of P-bits based on the size of the data payload in thepacket. This HD4 error control code may detect all 1-bit, 2-bit and3-bit errors in a data payload and may fail to detect a small percentageof errors of 4-bits and higher.

In an example of implementing the HD4 error control code in hardware viaa collection of XOR gates, for data bit #1, the value may be 7 or binary00 . . . 00111. Here, a “1” in that bit location of the leastsignificant bit means that a Parity bit 0 may use an XOR term from databit 1. The next leftmost bit may also be a “1,” which indicates thatParity bit 1 may use an XOR term from data bit #1. Since the nextleftmost bit may also be a “1,” the Parity bit 2 may use an XOR termfrom data bit #1. At this point, the P-bit count may increase by 1 whenthere are no more entries that are 2 P-bits long.

If data bit #2 has a value of 11, or binary 0 . . . 1101, an XOR termfrom data bit #2 may be used for the following P-bit numbers 0, 2, and3. For data bit #3 having a value of 13 or binary 0 . . . 1110, an XORterm from data bit #3 may be used for P-bit numbers 0, 2, and 3. Fordata bit #4 having a value of 14 or binary 0 . . . 1110, an XOR termfrom data bit 4 may be used for P-bit numbers 1, 2 and 3. As shown inthis example, the number of P-bits increases as the data bit valueincreases. Keeping this in mind, Table 2 below summarizes how the numberof P-bits increases according to the data length of the payload fieldfor the HD4 error control code.

TABLE 2 Data Length No. of P-bits 1 3 4 4 11 5 26 6 57 7 120 8 247 9 50210 1013 11 2036 12 4083 13 8178 14 16369 15 32752 16 2{circumflex over( )}(n − 1) − n n

As shown in the tables above, the data length supported is generally alonger data length than a possible CRC code of the same P-bit count.Moreover, regardless of whether an HD3 error control code, an HD4 errorcontrol code, HD5 error control code, etc. is employed by the scalableprotocol, since the size of the ECC field varies based on the size ofthe data payload, the scalable protocol may enable a more bit-efficienttransfer of packets as compared to conventional protocols.

In certain embodiments, when sending packets to the host SoC 12, thememory SoC 22 may generate an error control code based on the size ofthe payload being transmitted. That is, the memory SoC 22 may receive apacket to be transmitted to a host SoC 12. The memory SoC 22 may thendetermine a size of the ECC field 36 based on a size of the payloadbeing transmitted in the packet. As such, after determining the size ofthe packet, the memory SoC 22 may identify an appropriate ECC algorithmto use to encode the packet. The memory SoC 22 may then encode thepacket using the identified ECC algorithm and then send the encodedpacket to the host SoC 12.

System Window

In a computer system that has multiple host processors and multiplememory modules that communicate with each other, it may be difficult todetermine which host processor is communicating with which memorymodule. In conventional protocols, each host processor and memory modulemay listen to each communication between the host processors and thememory modules to determine whether a respective communication isassociated with it. However, listening to each communication betweenhost processors and memory modules may be an inefficient way to identifycommunications.

To provide a more efficient way to identify communications that may berelated to a particular device, the scalable protocol may includeassigning a specific identification (ID) or system window (e.g.,SysWin0, SysWin1, SysWin2, etc.) for each piece of control silicon(e.g., host processor, memory ASIC, etc.) in a system. The system windowmay be similar to the transaction window in that it may be a virtualchannel implemented using a virtual address space. The system window mayinclude a source field (e.g., sourceSysWin) and a destination field(e.g., destinationSysWin) that may indicate a source of a respectivecommunication and a destination of the respective communication. Assuch, when communicating with other devices, a transmitting componentmay append the transaction operation or communication with anappropriate system window to indicate the destination of thecommunication.

Keeping this in mind, the scalable protocol may use system windows (or asystem window) to create a globally-enabled, fully-distributed memorymanagement unit (MMU). The MMU may protect the memory device 14 fromother components accessing certain information in the respective memorydevice 14. The MMU may also provide a mapping between virtual memoryspace and actual memory space. By incorporating the system windows intoeach communication between various host processors and memory modules,the scalable protocol may enable a global MMU system by allowing eachrespective memory device to locally manage communications at a systemwindow level. That is, the ASIC of each memory device may enforce anylocal rules associated with the respective memory device based on thesystem window associated with a received communication. As such, byassigning each communication with a particular system window to indicatea respective control silicon associated therewith, the scalable protocolmay enable a global memory management unit (MMU) that locally managesaccess to each respective memory device 14.

In this manner, system windows may be added to the scalable protocol toenable various types of capabilities to the overall system. From thescalable protocol perspective, as mentioned above, the system window mayinclude two fields: sourceSysWin and destinationSysWin, which may enableglobal routing of packets in large systems.

In addition to the global routing features, the system window enablesthe scalable protocol to combine aspects of the systems windows,transaction windows, channels, and a security method to create a globalmemory management unit. For instance, a security model for each memorydevice may be extended to a multi-SoC system and thus may enable adistributed global memory management scheme within the multi-SoC systemand distributed global memory security for the multi-SoC system.

As mentioned above, the system window (SysWin) may be a global addressfor a SoC (e.g., host SoC 12 and memory SoC 22) residing in a system.The transaction window may be, in a memory context, a portal to a regionof memory that may be associated with multiple entire memory devices oras small as a single page of a memory device. The channel may refer to aphysical full duplex bus that attaches the SoC to other SoCs in thesystem.

In certain embodiments, the channel and transaction window(CHANNNEL.WINDOW) may be associated with a secure zone that may preventunauthorized access by putting a protection gatekeeper at the entranceto the memory data. The security zone may be a combination of a physicalchannel (e.g., CHANNEL) and a transaction window (e.g., WINDOW) accessedthrough that channel. In a small system, where there is a hostsystem-on-chip (SoC) and a memory subsystem accessed through a MemoryModule (MM) SoC, the SoCs are generally constructed in a fixed topology.That is, the SoCs may be soldered down on a printed circuit board, suchthat the buses are wired and do not change physical interconnections. Asa result, just the established entities of the SoCs may communicate onthose buses for normal operation.

To provide security features for the memory data, an access list may beestablished for each security zone. For instance, the host and the MINISoCs may have within them a stored key. The access list in the MINI SoCmay initially be empty. At power-on, a handshake may occur to fulfill adesire of the host SoC to gain access to data held downstream of the MMSoC. As such, the host SoC may send a message to the MM SoC to add anitem to the access list. The message may include a code generated from amutually known polynomial function of the stored key and a particularchunk of data known to both the host SoC and the MINI SoC. Thus, thestored key may not be available for the bus to access. This code may beverified by the MINI SoC, and, if valid, the MM SoC may allow the itemto be added to the access list of the MM SoC. For example, if the systemhas 2 physical channels named 0 and 1 and the MINI SoC is configured tohave 1024 Windows, 0 through 1023, the host SoC may want Windows 0through 27 to be accessible through channel 0 and Windows 28 through1023 accessible through channel 1. Here, the host SoC may make accessrequests for each of these windows by sending messages including asingle or multiple operations to add to access lists.

The message may be sent using write, Read-Modify-Write, or messagepackets. That is, any of these types of packets may be used to make therequest to add an item to the access list.

In certain embodiments, requests may also be made to remove entries fromthe access list. That is, at some time, access may no longer be desired.As such, for security, the host SoC may request that entries are removedby following the same procedure of using the code in the message forremoving an entry.

As a result of the method described above with respect to securityzones, a level of protection against errant software, particularly wherethe channel count and window counts are high, may be provided. Forexample, if a particular software thread when running normally isprovided access to just the data in Window 17 through channel 0, the MMSoC may recognize that any authorized element for a request should becoming on channel 0 for Window 17. Since any other request on thatchannel is unauthorized, the memory behind the other windows may thus beprotected from reads or writes.

Another advantage of implementing the security zone includes providingsecurity against malicious threats. For instance, if the host SoC isunsoldered and an attacker tries to probe the memories behind the MMSoC, the attacker still may not be able to access anything even if theyknow the correct protocol because they do not have the stored key. Assuch, when the system is powered on, the attacker still does not knowhow to add anything to the access list, and any access request by theattacker will be denied.

Moreover, by providing security zones, the function of a CPU MemoryManagement Unit may be replaced. Using an example of an ARM processor, aMMU may have a page size selectable as 4 KB or 64 KB. Assuming that allpages are 4 KB and that a grain size (i.e., minimum operation size) ofthe window is 8 B, the address within a page may be 9 bits. Assuming nowthat the system capacity is 16 GB of physical memory, the window fieldmay be at least 18 bits (actually 19 because there may be a window0 forcontrol registry, buffers, etc). Using 2{circumflex over ( )}18 windowsto access the memory with 4 KB of memory residing in each window, a 1for 1 mapping of virtual memory to physical memory may exist. As aresult, a system that can provide access security to the physical memorymay be achieved. If the window count is increased further, security tovirtual memory may then be supported. That is, each 4 KB chunk ofphysical memory may be mapped into more than 1 window.

Keeping the discussion of security zones in mind, the system window(SysWin) may extend the security features described above to a multi-SoCsystem to enable distributed global memory management for the multi-SoCsystem and distributed global memory security for the multi-SoC system.That is, when multiple SoCs are present in the system, the securityzones described above may not adequately provide security for each SoCbecause the above-described security zones may rely on a presence of asingle host SoC. It should be noted that the above-described securityzones may function correctly with multiple MM SoCs so long as no packetforwarding occurs between those multiple MM SoCs. However, when this isnot the case, the communications may become less secure.

By adding the sourceSysWin and destinationSysWin fields in the protocol,the security zones' capabilities may be extended to systems havingmultiple SoCs. That is, in one embodiment, the security zone may changefrom CHANNEL.WINDOW to CHANNEL.SYSWIN.WINDOW. The secure access list maythen reflect the added field. In this larger system with multiple SoCs,the same benefits of the security zones described above are present, butextended to systems of any size. Thus, creating the ability to haveglobally enforced security and global scope but locally executed memorymanagement and protection.

Keeping the foregoing in mind, FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of amethod 90 for generating a secure access list of trusted components. Thefollowing description of the method 90 will be described as beingperformed by the memory SoC 22, but it should be understood that anysuitable processor may perform the method 90.

Referring now to FIG. 7, at block 92, the memory SoC 22 may receive apacket from a transmitting component (e.g., host SoC 12). In oneembodiment, the packet may be the first packet received from thetransmitting component by the memory SoC 22. As such, the memory SoC 22may not know whether to trust packets received from the transmittingcomponent or not.

Upon receiving the packet, at block 94, the memory SoC 22 may modify thepacket using a first key (e.g., key 1). In certain embodiments, eachtransmitting and receiving component operating using the scalableprotocol described herein may have encryption keys stored thereon todetermine whether the respective component is authorized to perform adata operation associated with a packet. Since the keys are stored oneach respective component, the key cannot be intercepted viatransmission. That is, the trust zone established using the keysdescribed herein is created from end nodes, and thus provide a securezone.

After modifying the packet with the first key, at block 96, the memorySoC 22 may transmit the packet modified using the first key back to thetransmitting component. The transmitting component may again modify thepacket modified using the first key. That is, the transmitting componentmay modify the key 1 modified packet using a second key (e.g., key 2).After modifying the key 1 modified packet, the transmitting componentmay send the key 2 modified packet back to the memory SoC 22.

At block 98, the memory SoC 22 may receive the key 2 modified packetfrom the transmitting component. If the transmitting component is atrusted component operating within the scalable protocol, the key (e.g.,key 2) used to modify the key 1 modified packet should create someresult that the memory SoC 22 will recognize as valid. As such, at block100, the memory SoC 22 may verify whether the transmitting component istrustworthy or has credentials establishing the component as atrustworthy component based on the key 2 modified packet.

If the transmitting component is determined to be trustworthy, thememory SoC 22 may proceed to block 102 and add the system windowidentification of the packet or the transmitting component to a trustedlist stored locally with respect to the memory SoC 22. As such, thememory SoC 22 allows packets from the transmitting component receivedvia a particular channel and having a particular transaction or systemwindow to be received. If the transmitting component is determined notto be trustworthy, an error message may be sent to the transmittingcomponent at block 104. In this way, the hardware of the memory device14 may be used to provide some security protection with respect to thetransmission of packets.

While the embodiments described herein may be susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and have been described indetail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention isnot intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather,the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the following appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a memory componentconfigured to store data; and a processor, configured to: receive asignal indicating that the memory component is coupled to the processor;retrieve information from the memory component, wherein the informationis indicative of one or more locations within the memory component, andwherein the one or more locations correspond to one or more portions ofthe memory component that are accessed when the memory component is toperform one or more operations associated with one or more dataoperations regarding the memory component; receive one or more packetsassociated with the one or more data operations regarding the memorycomponent; and perform the one or more data operations at the one morelocations of the memory component.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein thesignal is received upon receiving power at the processor.
 3. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the information comprises an indication regardingwhether the device is configured to perform a portion of the one or moredata operations.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the memory componentcomprises a Dynamic Random-Access Memory, a Static Random-Access Memory,a NAND memory, or any combination thereof.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein the information comprises an amount of memory space in thedevice.
 6. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium forstoring instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes theprocessor to: receive a plurality of packets from a plurality of controlsilicons associated with one or more memory components, wherein theplurality of packets is associated with a plurality of data operationsto be performed on a memory component of the one or more memorycomponents, wherein each of the plurality of control silicons isassociated with a respective system window comprising a respectivevirtual channel implemented using a respective virtual address spaceassociated with the memory component, and wherein each of the pluralityof packets is modified by a respective control silicon of the pluralityof control silicons prior to transmission based on the respective systemwindow comprising a source field indicative of a source of a respectivepacket and a destination field indicative of a destination of therespective packet; and perform one or more data operations using thememory component based on the respective system window of each of theplurality of packets.
 7. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readablemedium of claim 6, wherein the instructions are configured to cause theprocessor to generate a globally-enabled memory management system basedon the system window for each of the plurality of control silicons. 8.The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 7,wherein the globally-enabled memory management system comprises amapping between virtual memory space comprising the virtual addressspace to an actual memory space of the memory component.
 9. Thetangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 7, whereinthe globally-enabled memory management system comprises an access listindicative of a portion of the plurality of control silicons that isprovided access to the memory component.